WEBVTT - How to write a standout resume 0:00:03.119 --> 0:00:05.329 You're listening to a CNA podcast. 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:13.970 Hi, it's Tiffany and Gerald on the Work It podcast. Now, 0:00:14.119 --> 0:00:17.319 a little story here, about 6 years ago, I had 0:00:17.319 --> 0:00:19.718 to clean up my resume because I was looking for 0:00:19.719 --> 0:00:23.120 a new job. At that time, I hadn't touched it 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:25.959 in 8 years. So what did I do? I turned 0:00:25.959 --> 0:00:28.719 to Google for help. Now this is what Google said 0:00:28.719 --> 0:00:32.439 to me, List your achievements from most recent and work 0:00:32.439 --> 0:00:32.680 bad work. 0:00:33.549 --> 0:00:37.540 Highlighting any recommendations or awards you have won along the way, 0:00:37.830 --> 0:00:41.659 then put your education background and list some skills you have, 0:00:41.869 --> 0:00:44.540 which may be suitable for the job you are applying for. 0:00:44.830 --> 0:00:47.830 Now by the time I was done, it was almost 0:00:47.830 --> 0:00:52.830 3 pages long because everything felt important to me. OK, 0:00:52.869 --> 0:00:54.630 I know this is where you will be shaking your 0:00:54.630 --> 0:00:55.069 head at me. 0:00:55.310 --> 0:00:58.830 Yeah, yeah, I think firstly, you have GPT today. It's 0:00:58.830 --> 0:01:01.700 a lot easier now it's a lot easier, but I 0:01:01.700 --> 0:01:05.179 think when it comes to resume writing, right, I think 0:01:05.180 --> 0:01:08.099 everyone can agree that they feel that their resume is 0:01:08.099 --> 0:01:09.819 always a work in progress. They don't feel that they 0:01:09.819 --> 0:01:12.580 have the perfect resume. There's always something to add, update, 0:01:12.660 --> 0:01:16.179 enhance in our resume, where we want to apply for jobs, right? 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:17.779 So I think 0:01:18.269 --> 0:01:21.099 Most people want to put everything that they have inside, 0:01:21.309 --> 0:01:24.419 and that's why you hit 3 pages or more very quickly. 0:01:24.589 --> 0:01:27.389 There's an art actually and a bit of science or 0:01:27.830 --> 0:01:30.459 as to how we should tailor our resumes a bit 0:01:30.459 --> 0:01:33.870 better so that it appeals to the recruiters, hiring companies 0:01:34.230 --> 0:01:36.669 to attract them to take a second look at what 0:01:36.669 --> 0:01:38.589 you've written on your resume and then call you in 0:01:38.589 --> 0:01:41.349 for an interview. I know this is something that's really 0:01:41.709 --> 0:01:44.389 on the top of many people's minds, people who are 0:01:44.389 --> 0:01:46.989 job-seeking or even maybe not job-seeking as well. How do 0:01:46.989 --> 0:01:47.309 you write? 0:01:47.385 --> 0:01:49.855 A good resume and what to look out for. So 0:01:49.855 --> 0:01:52.635 I call in the big shot today, right? I'm really happy. 0:01:52.815 --> 0:01:56.735 We have a Lim Zirong, master professionals at the Institute 0:01:56.735 --> 0:01:59.775 of HR Professionals to walk us through this thing about 0:01:59.775 --> 0:02:04.415 resumes and to give us some tips and hacks. Welcome, Zong. Hi, 0:02:04.574 --> 0:02:06.375 thank you. Thanks for having me. So 0:02:06.375 --> 0:02:09.175 Zong, give me a ballpark, right? How many resumes have 0:02:09.175 --> 0:02:12.404 you seen so far in your career and in percentage terms, 0:02:12.735 --> 0:02:15.214 how many do you think are well written? Wow, 0:02:15.304 --> 0:02:15.615 how many? 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.889 Over hundreds or close to 1000. I mean, because I've 0:02:19.889 --> 0:02:23.070 worked in HR for close to 19 years by now, 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:24.369 and I would say, 0:02:25.199 --> 0:02:26.649 how many are actually well written? 0:02:26.788 --> 0:02:27.039 I like 0:02:27.038 --> 0:02:30.038 to be cautiously optimistic, so more than half would be 0:02:30.038 --> 0:02:30.739 well written. 0:02:31.559 --> 0:02:31.919 But these 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:35.799 good ones, are they already like they're fresh from the 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:38.929 job portals or are they like already pre-screened? Oh, you 0:02:38.929 --> 0:02:40.919 mean there's a difference? Yeah, the ATS. 0:02:41.300 --> 0:02:43.990 Oh yes, OK, application software. 0:02:44.330 --> 0:02:46.008 So I would say in the earlier part of my career, 0:02:46.089 --> 0:02:48.288 I will screen every resume myself though now in the 0:02:48.288 --> 0:02:50.289 second part, I do have a team that helps me 0:02:50.288 --> 0:02:51.000 to pre-screen. 0:02:51.179 --> 0:02:51.360 Now 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:53.690 that you have heard what I did in the introduction, 0:02:53.850 --> 0:02:55.889 what's the good thing I did and what's the bad 0:02:55.889 --> 0:02:56.210 thing I 0:02:56.210 --> 0:02:56.440 did? 0:02:56.649 --> 0:02:58.330 I think first of all I want to start by 0:02:58.330 --> 0:03:00.970 saying a lot of people fall into the pitfall where, oh, 0:03:01.570 --> 0:03:03.029 now I want to look for a job, I want 0:03:03.029 --> 0:03:05.449 to update my resume and then they just build on. 0:03:05.589 --> 0:03:08.940 What they have previously updated in the past. Like personally, 0:03:08.979 --> 0:03:11.220 I was, I started my career in Temasek, then I 0:03:11.220 --> 0:03:13.418 will have a resume that wrote Temasek, then I moved 0:03:13.419 --> 0:03:16.490 on to Unilever. I put on my resume experience on Unilever, 0:03:16.860 --> 0:03:19.538 and then then I keep building on and on. But 0:03:19.538 --> 0:03:22.020 the truth is when we build on our resumes, we 0:03:22.020 --> 0:03:25.660 should also revisit the old parts and maybe refine it 0:03:25.660 --> 0:03:28.970 or even delete it or make it shorter rather than 0:03:28.970 --> 0:03:29.779 to take a very lazy. 0:03:30.110 --> 0:03:32.830 approach like a Lego where you stack, stack, stack and 0:03:32.839 --> 0:03:34.860 and now you have your 3-page or your 4-page 0:03:34.860 --> 0:03:38.309 resume. Yeah, yeah, OK, OK. So I should actually go 0:03:38.309 --> 0:03:41.470 back and then relook at some parts and maybe shorten 0:03:41.470 --> 0:03:43.470 shorten some things, maybe even delete some things, 0:03:43.589 --> 0:03:48.429 right? Especially if some are highly operational and especially if 0:03:48.429 --> 0:03:51.350 you're applying for a much more senior role already. Let's 0:03:51.350 --> 0:03:54.110 say you're applying for a director role after 15 years. 0:03:54.190 --> 0:03:56.960 South Korea. You don't need to use to do campus 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:01.559 recruitment coordinating the logistics with the hotel. Yeah, you should 0:04:01.559 --> 0:04:02.100 delete that 0:04:02.100 --> 0:04:03.990 by now. OK, OK, that's a good tip. 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:07.160 Can I give another tip too? You know sometimes people 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:11.649 put their contact details under header and footer. So their name, 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:15.000 their email address, their mobile number, and unfortunately, when they 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:18.359 go through ATS, the application tracking system. 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:22.140 Their contact details may not be captured because it's in 0:04:22.140 --> 0:04:25.260 the header field. So always put your contact details in 0:04:25.260 --> 0:04:28.859 the body of your resume. In the header, it becomes 0:04:28.859 --> 0:04:31.500 very small and tiny and that might not be captured. 0:04:31.619 --> 0:04:33.700 Then if you got shortlisted, the ATS don't even have 0:04:33.700 --> 0:04:35.290 the contact details to contact you. 0:04:35.790 --> 0:04:38.579 Oh my goodness, I didn't know that as your resume 0:04:38.579 --> 0:04:39.440 is incomplete. 0:04:41.217 --> 0:04:43.087 But why, why would people want to put their contact 0:04:43.087 --> 0:04:46.617 details in the header is because they want to space 0:04:46.617 --> 0:04:48.087 is one thing. They also want it to be repeated 0:04:48.087 --> 0:04:49.846 on every page. They want it to be more visible, 0:04:49.886 --> 0:04:52.967 but actually on the contrary, if software is involved, right, 0:04:53.046 --> 0:04:56.046 it could be invisible. Wow, that's like, OK, my mind 0:04:56.046 --> 0:04:58.286 is a little bit blown right now. I would probably 0:04:58.286 --> 0:04:59.886 have done and put it in the header because I 0:04:59.886 --> 0:05:03.687 want to maximize the page space, right, right? OK, so. 0:05:04.033 --> 0:05:07.753 Walk us through very quickly the entire process of recruitment 0:05:07.753 --> 0:05:10.794 from the time our resume is submitted into the job portal. 0:05:10.954 --> 0:05:13.873 When it's in the job portal, then progressive company would 0:05:13.873 --> 0:05:17.563 have certain form of screening by picking up keywords first. Hence, 0:05:17.634 --> 0:05:21.993 that's why I advise job seekers to always include reasonable keywords. 0:05:22.273 --> 0:05:25.194 Don't include very bombastic one where, you know, you inflate 0:05:25.194 --> 0:05:26.343 your title so big that it's 0:05:26.390 --> 0:05:29.420 not so common out there. Make sure it's relevant to 0:05:29.420 --> 0:05:32.180 the job that you are applying. Another pro tip, look 0:05:32.180 --> 0:05:34.221 at the job description and look at the keywords in 0:05:34.221 --> 0:05:36.859 the JD and try to incorporate some of the keywords 0:05:36.860 --> 0:05:40.300 in the JD into your resume. And this way, it 0:05:40.300 --> 0:05:42.299 is more likely to be picked up by the system 0:05:42.300 --> 0:05:44.260 in the first stage of automated 0:05:44.260 --> 0:05:44.621 screening. 0:05:44.740 --> 0:05:47.940 So should you copy and paste wholesale the keywords or 0:05:47.940 --> 0:05:48.940 you should try and 0:05:49.149 --> 0:05:52.700 I don't not plagiarize and use this copy and 0:05:52.700 --> 0:05:53.070 paste, 0:05:53.220 --> 0:05:56.339 you're missing something, you missed out the parts to write 0:05:56.339 --> 0:05:59.260 down your impact at work because JD is usually listing 0:05:59.260 --> 0:06:03.220 the responsibility to help execute this event, but you wouldn't 0:06:03.220 --> 0:06:06.579 say execute this event and achieve a certain impact. And 0:06:06.579 --> 0:06:09.059 the second part has to come from your experience. So 0:06:09.059 --> 0:06:12.238 resumes are already used at the beginning of the process, right? 0:06:12.250 --> 0:06:15.019 And the process starts with some form of screening and 0:06:15.019 --> 0:06:18.660 if if it's customized well like what Zong was telling us, then. 0:06:18.736 --> 0:06:20.967 Your resume has a higher chance of moving on to 0:06:20.967 --> 0:06:23.886 the next stages. So what happens after the resume has 0:06:23.886 --> 0:06:24.516 been picked up? 0:06:24.647 --> 0:06:27.366 Let's say. Then usually the recruiter would do a phone 0:06:27.367 --> 0:06:30.006 screening in today's age or maybe a video screening, which 0:06:30.005 --> 0:06:33.166 is now so common after COVID-19. Now after some sort 0:06:33.166 --> 0:06:36.777 of phone screening, usually we move into a physical interview 0:06:36.777 --> 0:06:40.766 where possible, though unfortunately, I've still seen companies sticking to 0:06:40.766 --> 0:06:44.367 just video interviews throughout the whole selection process. I think 0:06:44.367 --> 0:06:46.957 that's the ease of convenience and they also thought, oh, 0:06:46.967 --> 0:06:48.207 I don't want you to come all the way. 0:06:48.324 --> 0:06:50.473 Now candidates love it, right? You don't have to take 0:06:50.473 --> 0:06:52.644 a half day leave to go for an interview with 0:06:52.644 --> 0:06:55.944 Goldman Sachs. Then call me old school, but I feel 0:06:55.944 --> 0:06:58.984 when the candidate meet the interviewer in person, you get 0:06:58.984 --> 0:07:00.914 the chance to size him or her up to, is 0:07:00.914 --> 0:07:03.152 this someone that I want to work with or work 0:07:03.153 --> 0:07:05.834 for that you might not be able to tell so 0:07:05.834 --> 0:07:10.704 clearly over an interview, right? So 3 interviews, even physical 0:07:10.704 --> 0:07:14.704 one as a two-way courtship where you're evaluating the company. 0:07:14.834 --> 0:07:17.194 Don't just go to say I need this job badly, 0:07:17.234 --> 0:07:17.794 I need Goldman. 0:07:18.191 --> 0:07:19.661 to love me and hire me. I see. 0:07:19.860 --> 0:07:22.501 So I read that it takes a hiring manager on 0:07:22.501 --> 0:07:26.730 average 10 seconds to decide if the resume is in 0:07:26.730 --> 0:07:31.540 the accept pile or the reject stash. OK, what do 0:07:31.540 --> 0:07:34.300 you first look at? If I were to put eye 0:07:34.300 --> 0:07:38.489 tracking software into your eyes, which content takes the most 0:07:38.490 --> 0:07:39.670 of your eye time? 0:07:39.781 --> 0:07:39.901 I 0:07:39.901 --> 0:07:43.941 would say your last most two recent jobs and your 0:07:43.941 --> 0:07:46.580 time roll, but I want to qualify that first of all, 0:07:46.631 --> 0:07:47.460 it depends on 0:07:47.649 --> 0:07:50.339 The hiring company and the nature of the industry first. 0:07:50.510 --> 0:07:53.750 If you're a startup looking to hire, probably you wouldn't 0:07:53.750 --> 0:07:56.179 be so obsessed about the staying power of an individual, 0:07:56.549 --> 0:07:59.100 but rather you are more obsessed on has this person 0:07:59.100 --> 0:08:01.670 done 0 to 1 work, the ability to do something 0:08:01.670 --> 0:08:04.750 from scratch and to scale it up, versus if you 0:08:04.750 --> 0:08:07.549 are applying for a more traditional company, then the recruiter 0:08:07.549 --> 0:08:09.989 might value. Oh, did you spend 4 years in your 0:08:09.989 --> 0:08:12.828 last most recent gig and your last second most recent 0:08:12.829 --> 0:08:13.769 gig was it at least 0:08:13.842 --> 0:08:16.423 3 years or so. So I wouldn't say this is 0:08:16.423 --> 0:08:18.653 what I look for, but depending on the nature of 0:08:18.653 --> 0:08:21.852 the industry, the recruiters may look at it this way. 0:08:22.013 --> 0:08:24.453 So they will still look at the first two jobs. 0:08:24.532 --> 0:08:27.852 It's just that maybe someone from a startup company might 0:08:27.852 --> 0:08:30.893 look at what you have achieved, whereas somebody who is 0:08:30.893 --> 0:08:35.412 in a bigger company, a legacy company value longevity. So 0:08:35.413 --> 0:08:36.572 they might be looking at the 0:08:36.572 --> 0:08:39.293 duration. the first page is usually your last gigs. 0:08:40.005 --> 0:08:42.075 Correct, but there's always the top part where you can 0:08:42.075 --> 0:08:43.794 write a short little bio of yourself. 0:08:43.994 --> 0:08:47.484 Personally, I don't think it is necessary, but if you 0:08:47.484 --> 0:08:49.934 still want to include, I recommend keeping it to 2 0:08:49.934 --> 0:08:53.594 to 3 sentences. Yeah, I've seen resumes where the personal 0:08:53.594 --> 0:08:56.994 bio was almost like 1/3 of the first page and 0:08:56.994 --> 0:09:00.593 all this personal bio is self-description of an individual, not 0:09:00.594 --> 0:09:03.794 substantiated by your achievement or impact at work, depending on 0:09:03.794 --> 0:09:06.074 the interview or the screener who picked up your resume. 0:09:06.409 --> 0:09:08.640 He or she may believe or may not believe in 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.669 it rather than going into the qualitative details. 0:09:11.719 --> 0:09:14.280 I think Zong mentioned a very important principle which is 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.309 you need to create a resume that is reader friendly, 0:09:17.359 --> 0:09:19.000 so you need to put yourself in the shoes of 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:19.559 the reader. 0:09:19.909 --> 0:09:22.200 What are they looking for, what will appeal to them 0:09:22.369 --> 0:09:25.330 in terms of keywords, in terms of what's important information 0:09:25.330 --> 0:09:27.690 for them to see about you, so that it makes 0:09:27.690 --> 0:09:31.238 the whole reading, the whole 10 seconds more worthwhile. Yeah, yeah. 0:09:31.409 --> 0:09:35.409 Now you talked about putting your contact details in the body. Now, 0:09:35.450 --> 0:09:38.549 what are the things are necessary to put inside the resume? 0:09:38.690 --> 0:09:38.809 I 0:09:38.809 --> 0:09:41.489 think one thing that I would personally recommend is start 0:09:41.489 --> 0:09:44.510 with the achievement that you have achieved in that company. 0:09:44.770 --> 0:09:47.130 When I was at Unilever, what was the top two. 0:09:47.215 --> 0:09:50.434 Achievement that I've done. So start with the achievement first, 0:09:50.645 --> 0:09:53.164 then followed by some of the tasks or the work 0:09:53.164 --> 0:09:56.395 that you have done in that gig. Yeah. This way 0:09:56.645 --> 0:10:00.694 your achievement steals the limelight and quickly seizes the attention 0:10:00.965 --> 0:10:02.164 very quickly. It catches 0:10:02.164 --> 0:10:02.405 your eye, 0:10:02.445 --> 0:10:04.804 right, because you put numbers inside there, right? Yeah, you 0:10:04.804 --> 0:10:07.965 qualify numbers and it's a very nice welcome distraction for 0:10:07.965 --> 0:10:10.885 your eyes. It gives your eyes, there could be some 0:10:10.885 --> 0:10:13.324 numbers peppered in there too if you just see a 0:10:13.325 --> 0:10:14.445 long essay, you feel like I don't want to. 0:10:14.530 --> 0:10:16.960 Yeah, yeah, so when you put some nice words with 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:19.450 not proper formatting, I think it sends the signals to 0:10:19.450 --> 0:10:22.440 the reader. What I'm getting so far from both of 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:26.000 you is that it's a bit like storytelling, right? Writing 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.880 a resume is storytelling, so it depends on who your 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:32.919 reader is. If I'm applying for a managerial position, then 0:10:32.919 --> 0:10:35.479 you want to put straight up that you have led 0:10:35.479 --> 0:10:38.559 teams of what sizes, you have led them to achieve 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:39.880 certain transformations 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:41.719 that you can include in your 2 to 3. 0:10:41.965 --> 0:10:44.434 This is a summary if that is the intent. OK, 0:10:44.515 --> 0:10:44.784 what 0:10:44.784 --> 0:10:47.593 if though I am applying for a specialist role, but 0:10:47.594 --> 0:10:49.955 I don't want to put myself into a corner and 0:10:49.955 --> 0:10:51.994 say that this is what I'm good for. I want 0:10:51.994 --> 0:10:55.734 to open up the possibility of maybe down the road, 0:10:55.835 --> 0:10:58.314 you might want to consider me for a more managerial 0:10:58.315 --> 0:11:02.275 position because that means that I get promoted. What then 0:11:02.275 --> 0:11:03.554 should I focus in this 0:11:03.554 --> 0:11:08.085 resume? You must remember the three E's, your experience, your exposure, 0:11:08.135 --> 0:11:09.074 and your education. 0:11:09.390 --> 0:11:12.619 The experience part, keep it 1 to 2 pages at 0:11:12.619 --> 0:11:15.630 max I would feel that exposure, what are the things 0:11:15.630 --> 0:11:19.429 you do outside work, volunteering or even part of associations 0:11:19.429 --> 0:11:22.710 that you'll be very, be very active in, and then lastly, 0:11:22.719 --> 0:11:25.609 your education, keep it short, where did you graduate from, etc. 0:11:26.109 --> 0:11:29.500 And I, I think back to your point on, on, 0:11:29.549 --> 0:11:32.309 on that, your resume is supposed to land you an 0:11:32.309 --> 0:11:35.549 interview where possible. And once you land, if you land 0:11:35.549 --> 0:11:39.700 the interview, then use that conversation to highlight your career aspirations, 0:11:39.869 --> 0:11:41.469 how you may or may not want to be only 0:11:41.469 --> 0:11:44.150 a specialist, and then probe the company if they provide 0:11:44.150 --> 0:11:47.960 that option and opportunity and pathway for you to pursue. OK, 0:11:48.030 --> 0:11:51.869 but be very honest with me, how many recruiters actually 0:11:51.869 --> 0:11:53.390 look at the volunteering part? 0:11:53.604 --> 0:11:56.204 Honestly, I think that volunteering part is a nice to 0:11:56.205 --> 0:11:59.125 have and possibly people will put it in maybe if 0:11:59.125 --> 0:12:02.205 they are headed towards politics or they are headed towards, 0:12:02.255 --> 0:12:05.044 I don't know, like a director position or they want 0:12:05.044 --> 0:12:06.885 to join some association, then they want to try to 0:12:06.885 --> 0:12:10.005 put everything in, shore it up, right? But how many 0:12:10.005 --> 0:12:12.965 recruiters or hiring managers actually look at the volunteering part, 0:12:13.005 --> 0:12:14.405 the exposure part like you 0:12:14.405 --> 0:12:14.593 said. 0:12:15.405 --> 0:12:17.044 I think it has to go back to what are 0:12:17.044 --> 0:12:19.765 the companies that you're applying for, right? You want to 0:12:19.765 --> 0:12:20.804 work for a company. 0:12:21.150 --> 0:12:24.710 That has a good purpose. I believe that companies with 0:12:24.710 --> 0:12:30.150 purpose last, brands with purpose grow, and people with purpose strives. 0:12:30.429 --> 0:12:32.429 And when you look at a good recruiter, when you 0:12:32.429 --> 0:12:34.949 look at the resume and look at that volunteering part 0:12:34.950 --> 0:12:38.669 or the exposure part, you get a sense of what 0:12:38.669 --> 0:12:42.219 drives this individual, what is his purpose in life, and 0:12:42.549 --> 0:12:44.580 then see if there's a marriage between. 0:12:45.020 --> 0:12:47.608 His passion and what the company stands for, 0:12:48.140 --> 0:12:50.109 you know, this thing about what should I focus on 0:12:50.109 --> 0:12:52.770 in my resume, especially if today we have got a 0:12:52.770 --> 0:12:54.859 lot of good experiences and everything feels like it should 0:12:54.859 --> 0:12:58.618 be in there, right? I, I typically would advise us 0:12:58.619 --> 0:13:00.260 to take a look at, are you aware of this 0:13:00.260 --> 0:13:01.500 principle called the Gestalt? 0:13:02.059 --> 0:13:07.348 Principles. Basically, it's a set of rules or laws, right, 0:13:07.390 --> 0:13:11.669 principles that are developed to help people design better user experiences. 0:13:11.750 --> 0:13:17.270 It's meant to allow people to quickly understand complexity and 0:13:17.270 --> 0:13:20.429 make sense of complexity. So when I apply this the 0:13:20.429 --> 0:13:25.909 principles into resume, I treat the resume as a complex document, right? 0:13:25.989 --> 0:13:28.030 Just how our careers are actually very complex. We've got 0:13:28.030 --> 0:13:30.830 many different experiences, we do many different things across many 0:13:30.830 --> 0:13:31.390 different jobs. 0:13:32.330 --> 0:13:37.340 And how do we quickly design our resume according to 0:13:37.340 --> 0:13:39.659 this principles so that people can still see and make 0:13:39.659 --> 0:13:43.238 sense very quickly? Who am I? across all of all 0:13:43.239 --> 0:13:46.140 these experiences. So if I use a metaphor, right, like 0:13:46.140 --> 0:13:49.579 fish bone and the meat around the bone, we can 0:13:49.580 --> 0:13:52.520 look like that very fat fish with a lot of meat, right, 0:13:52.580 --> 0:13:53.979 and that's what we want to look like. But at 0:13:53.979 --> 0:13:55.770 the end of the day, if we strip away the meat, 0:13:55.940 --> 0:13:59.059 what's the bone that's there, the core, which is what Zhurong, 0:13:59.070 --> 0:14:01.510 I guess was also bringing up, right, that that. 0:14:01.580 --> 0:14:03.599 The essence of who you are, why are you doing 0:14:03.599 --> 0:14:05.960 what you are doing, the purpose of your career, there's 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.200 a narrative, a storytelling like you said, right, that needs 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:11.440 to come across. So how do we bring across this 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.669 storytelling in our resume? We can design it according to 0:14:14.669 --> 0:14:17.510 Gor principles, and some of these people are like, for example, 0:14:17.799 --> 0:14:22.340 putting in content, words, experiences at different places so that 0:14:22.599 --> 0:14:25.130 it signals certain things about you. And also, of course, 0:14:25.159 --> 0:14:26.960 things like less is more, right, you don't have to 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:28.960 put everything you put in the right thing so that 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:30.880 people send the right signal to their mind. 0:14:31.260 --> 0:14:33.150 And of course, I think one of the things that 0:14:33.150 --> 0:14:35.349 I would advise people to do is to test. So 0:14:35.349 --> 0:14:37.549 take your resume, give it to 5 different people and 0:14:37.549 --> 0:14:39.380 ask them what do they think you're trying to say 0:14:39.380 --> 0:14:41.109 in your resume. So you want to give it to 0:14:41.109 --> 0:14:43.179 a range of people so that you can see that 0:14:43.710 --> 0:14:44.549 regardless of what 0:14:44.919 --> 0:14:49.349 Experiences they're reading from, how are they perceiving you? OK. 0:14:49.599 --> 0:14:52.179 What are some red flags in a resume that will 0:14:52.179 --> 0:14:55.380 make a recruiter like you toss 0:14:55.380 --> 0:14:57.429 it out? red flags. Maybe I will answer it not 0:14:57.429 --> 0:15:00.950 from my perspective but from how I know some recruiters, they, 0:15:01.119 --> 0:15:04.559 they have told me. I mean, I mean one of 0:15:04.559 --> 0:15:07.219 the very common ones would be, oh, there's gap years 0:15:07.219 --> 0:15:11.200 in between jobs and I'm really I'm really. 0:15:11.294 --> 0:15:14.984 Agains that though, and I feel very deeply passionate about 0:15:14.984 --> 0:15:18.275 this because in the 1980s, it is common for people 0:15:18.275 --> 0:15:21.184 to find a job and stay for 20 or 30 years. 0:15:21.275 --> 0:15:24.075 Whereas if you look at now, economic cycles are shorter, 0:15:24.195 --> 0:15:27.775 ups and downs are faster, layoffs are increasingly common, and 0:15:27.775 --> 0:15:30.484 I really believe layoffs may not be an issue with 0:15:30.484 --> 0:15:33.554 the individual. It's just because of the business needs and 0:15:33.554 --> 0:15:36.835 hence I urge recruiters do not see gap years as 0:15:36.835 --> 0:15:37.765 a red flag, but 0:15:38.359 --> 0:15:41.830 Normalize the gap periods, there could be people who took 0:15:41.830 --> 0:15:46.859 a gap period for house giving, caretaking, or really unfortunately 0:15:46.859 --> 0:15:49.159 went through a layoff, and I think it should be 0:15:49.159 --> 0:15:51.280 normalized and treated as common. 0:15:51.559 --> 0:15:54.450 And not using the same yardstick like the 1980s where 0:15:54.450 --> 0:15:58.929 we want a continuous period of employment for 35 years. 0:15:59.299 --> 0:16:01.409 I think those days is a little bit 0:16:01.409 --> 0:16:01.890 over. 0:16:02.580 --> 0:16:05.219 What about if you are reading the resume and you're 0:16:05.219 --> 0:16:08.650 very confused because this person, everything is just like a 0:16:08.650 --> 0:16:10.500 jumble jumble of 0:16:10.500 --> 0:16:10.900 stuff. 0:16:11.340 --> 0:16:12.710 If you're working in a startup. 0:16:13.190 --> 0:16:16.559 In a very cutthroat or hardcore industry, then maybe such 0:16:16.559 --> 0:16:20.640 a profile will be fascinating because you want innovation, creativity, 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:24.760 and not be bounded by the traditional boundaries. So a 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:28.000 good recruiter knows the company well to know how to 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:31.150 hunt or look at recipes that may be suitable. Now, 0:16:31.159 --> 0:16:34.640 when recruiters read resumes, because we're all humans, right? 0:16:35.429 --> 0:16:39.299 I'm sure they're bound to be subjective biases. OK. So 0:16:39.299 --> 0:16:41.729 it could be maybe if you put an address in there, 0:16:41.820 --> 0:16:44.659 here in Singapore it's very obvious like which district you 0:16:44.659 --> 0:16:48.849 live in. Yeah, you live in District 9, District 10 people, 0:16:48.859 --> 0:16:52.710 people automatically like it or not infer certain things right 0:16:52.710 --> 0:16:56.219 about you. So how can we work around them knowing 0:16:56.219 --> 0:16:58.710 that the person who's going to be reading my resume. 0:16:59.140 --> 0:17:01.030 Might already infer some things about me. 0:17:01.219 --> 0:17:03.890 So first of all, some tips you as a candidate, 0:17:03.979 --> 0:17:08.260 then we should not over include certain information like address, 0:17:08.420 --> 0:17:11.099 I don't think it is necessary. So some people may 0:17:11.099 --> 0:17:13.699 not realize you don't even really need to put the 0:17:13.699 --> 0:17:16.579 year of when you graduate from your school. You can 0:17:16.579 --> 0:17:20.060 graduate from the National University of Singapore or MIT, but 0:17:20.060 --> 0:17:22.089 you don't have to say 2007. 0:17:22.420 --> 0:17:22.849 OK. 0:17:25.329 --> 0:17:28.030 But then do you put your secondary school, your junior college, 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:31.260 your poly, that kind of stuff, because people can again 0:17:31.469 --> 0:17:34.939 in Singapore infer the route that you took and then 0:17:35.150 --> 0:17:38.669 extrapolate and say oh maybe you come from a certain SES, 0:17:39.310 --> 0:17:40.149 social economic 0:17:40.150 --> 0:17:40.869 strata, 0:17:40.910 --> 0:17:43.750 and it's very true in resumes. I would see people 0:17:43.750 --> 0:17:46.469 putting secondary school when they come from the usual, the 0:17:46.469 --> 0:17:47.550 branded schools I mean. 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.640 At least not in the recruiters that I've met and 0:17:50.640 --> 0:17:54.699 also as a HR professional, I've never let a secondary school, 0:17:54.719 --> 0:17:58.369 a branded one influence if I was shortlisted you or not. 0:17:58.400 --> 0:17:59.770 I mean, not really. 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:03.079 Yeah, I think it adds that little food for thought 0:18:03.079 --> 0:18:07.839 signal that affirms certain perceptions, but when it comes to 0:18:07.839 --> 0:18:10.899 really selecting, you're still going back to the experiences, the achievements, 0:18:10.959 --> 0:18:13.390 what you have done, I think those are more tangible 0:18:13.390 --> 0:18:14.560 things that recruiters would. 0:18:14.969 --> 0:18:17.890 Look out for there was a situation where someone was 0:18:17.890 --> 0:18:20.488 applying for a job in Jurong and they're staying in 0:18:20.489 --> 0:18:24.290 Pasir Ris. and then I think the recruiter. 0:18:25.339 --> 0:18:29.300 Just discounted the resume saying that this person might be 0:18:29.300 --> 0:18:31.300 late for work or not. 0:18:32.739 --> 0:18:35.020 But what if this person has BTO flat near Boon, 0:18:36.099 --> 0:18:39.420